Cryptocurrency Daily Roundup – Nov.29

A summary of some of the widely followed stories on cryptocurrency and blockchain during the past 24 hours.

Google Searches for ‘Bitcoin’ Hits Highest Level Since April

Internet search on Google using the keyword ‘Bitcoin’ has reached the highest level since the first week in April, the search engine giant’s data indicates. The search volume has been just 13 percent since April 2018. But in a three-day period this week alone made up 17 percent of its all-time-high weekly search volume set in December last year, Google Trends show.

U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Two Iranians, Exposes Bitcoin Addresses

In a statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control or OFAC announced its action against Ali Khorashadizadeh and Mohammad Ghorbaniyan. They are accused of helping exchange bitcoin ransom payments into Iranian rial on behalf of Iranian hackers involved in the SamSam ransomware scheme that targeted over 200 known victims. Till now, Bitcoin was touted for its ability to keep users’ identities private. However, OFAC identified the digital currency addresses associated with these two Iranian financial facilitators.

Swiss food company Gustav Gerig teamed up with a consortium of eight Pacific Island Nations known as Pacifical, to offer a Ethereum blockchain solution for Tuna traceability for products sold by them. Gustav Gerig is perhaps the first European food importer to make a fish range fully traceable from the catch to the final product processing on the blockchain.

Canadian jewelry brand Birks Group accepting Bitcoin payments

Canadian jewelry brand Birks Group announced the addition of cryptocurrency Bitcoin as an option for customers to make payment for jewelry and brands such as Rolex, TAGHeuer, Bulgari, Cartier, Mont Blanc, Chaumet and Breitling. The new payment option is now available at eight retail locations out of its total of 29 retail locations across Canada. Birks Group partnered global Bitcoin and blockchain payments provider BitPay for the cryptocurrency payment processing.

Current Prices

As of this writing, Bitcoin is keeping its rising second for the second day by gaining 3.23 percent or $135 at $4283.90. Ethereum, however, is edging down by 0.17 percent or $0.20 at $117.70 on Coinbase.